Wins for Carlow and Kilkenny at the 2026 The Square Bar of the Year Awards

There was some local success at last night’s 2026 The Square Bar of the Year Awards.

More than 1,000 entries were made to this year’s event with finalists gathering at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin for the prize reveal, hosted by Anton Savage.

Hospitality across the country was heralded with gold, silver and bronze handed out.

McSorley’s in Kilkenny city took silver for Best Newcomer with bronze for City Bar of the Year going to Left Bank.

While Carlow’s The Terrace was awarded bronze for Outside Space of the Year.

Winners

Bar of the Year
Sponsored by Square

Winner — Pig’s Lane, Co. Kerry

5 Star Hotel Bar of the Year
Sponsored by London Essence

Winner — The Cellar Bar, The Merrion Hotel, Co. Dublin
Silver — The Sidecar, The Westbury, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Prince of Wales, Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo

Bar Food of The Year
Sponsored by Coca Cola

Winner — Paladar, Co. Cork
Silver — The White House, Co. Cork
Bronze — Blake’s Bar Galway, Co. Galway

Bar Manager of the Year
Sponsored by Aperol Spritz

Winner — Joe O’Callaghan, Tom Sheridan’s Bar & Restaurant, Co. Galway
Silver — Samantha Brauer, r.i.o.t., Co. Dublin
Bronze — Oisin Kelly, The Sidecar, The Westbury, Co. Dublin

Best Bar to Watch the Match
Sponsored by Sky Business

Winner — Woolshed Baa & Grill Cork, Co. Cork
Silver — Slattery’s of Beggars Bush, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Rising Sons Brewery, Co. Cork

Best Designed Bar / Inside Space
Sponsored by Peroni

Winner — Pig’s Lane, Co. Kerry
Silver — SOLE Seafood & Grill, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Flight Club, Co. Dublin

Best Live Entertainment Bar

Winner — The Kings Head, Co. Galway
Silver — disndat, Co. Dublin
Bronze — The Landmark, Co. Dublin

Best Newcomer

Winner — The Sackville Lounge, Co. Dublin
Silver — McSorley’s Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
Bronze — M J Wright Pub, Co. Dublin

Best Wine Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Classic Drinks

Winner — Maddens Bridge Bar & Restaurant, Co. Donegal
Silver — The Grayson, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Old Town Wine Bar, Co. Dublin

City Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Schweppes

Winner — Café en Seine, Co. Dublin
Silver — The Kings Head, Co. Galway
Bronze — Left Bank, Co. Kilkenny

Cocktail Bar of the Year
Sponsored by Maker’s Mark

Winner — Pig’s Lane, Co. Kerry
Silver — Cask, Co. Cork
Bronze — BAR 1661, Co. Dublin

Cocktail Bartender of the Year
Sponsored by Edward Dillon

Winner — Akram Bendjeddou, Paladar, Co. Cork
Silver — Stefi Fletcher, Bar 1661, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Maroje Milosevic, The Sidecar, The Westbury, Co. Dublin

Craft Bar of the Year

Winner — Rascals Brewing Company, Co. Dublin
Silver — mo chara, Co. Louth
Bronze — Brickyard Dundrum, Co. Dublin

Gail Cotter Lifetime Achievement

Winner — Vivian Carroll, Judge Roy Beans, Co. Kildare

Gastro Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Bunzl McLaughlin

Winner — The Old Spot, Co. Dublin
Silver — Mikey Ryan’s Bar & Kitchen, Cashel Palace, Co. Tipperary
Bronze — The Eagle Glasthule, Co. Dublin

Hotel Bar of The Year

Winner — Cask, Co. Cork
Silver — The Mercantile, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Fitzgerald’s Bar at The Imperial Hotel, Co. Cork

Hotel Cocktail Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Poachers Drinks

Winner — The Collins Club, The Leinster , Co. Dublin
Silver — The Sidecar, The Westbury, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Pen & Player Cocktail Bar, The Green Hotel, Co. Dublin

Innovative Bar of the Year
Sponsored by LUXARDO

Winner — The Dew Drop Inn & Brewhouse, Co. Kildare
Silver — Botanic Dublin, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Cruises Bar Ennis, Co. Clare

Late Bar / Nightclub of the Year
Sponsored by Red Bull

Winner — The George, Co. Dublin
Silver — 4 Dame Lane, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Crane Lane Theatre, Co. Cork

Local Bar of The Year

Winner — The Laurels Clondalkin, Co. Dublin
Silver — The Bath Pub, Co. Dublin
Bronze — Deery’s Bar & Lounge, Co. Monaghan

Outside Space of the Year

Winner — Henehans Venue, Co. Mayo
Silver — Mc Hughs Bar, Co. Leitrim
Bronze — The Terrace, Co. Carlow

Outstanding Customer Service Award

Winner — 37 Dawson Street, Co. Dublin
Silver — Arcadia, Co. Dublin
Bronze — The Make & Mark, Co. Laois

People’s Choice

Overall — Silken Thomas, Co. Kildare
Connacht / Ulster — Mc Hughs Bar, Co. Leitrim
Dublin — The George, Co. Dublin
Leinster — Silken Thomas, Co. Kildare
Munster — Geary’s Bar Charleville, Co. Cork

Pub Group of the Year

Winner — Cork Heritage Pubs

Restaurant Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Musgrave Marketplace

Winner — SOLE Seafood & Grill, Co. Dublin
Silver — McSwiggans Galway, Co. Galway
Bronze — The Gables Foxrock, Co. Dublin

Staff Personality of the Year

Winner — The Porter House Westport, Co. Mayo
Silver — Donnellys of Barna, Co. Galway
Bronze — Soho Bar Venue & Space, Co. Dublin

Tourist Bar of The Year
Sponsored by Sullivans Brewing Company

Winner — Sin É, Co. Cork
Silver — An Pucan, Co. Galway
Bronze — The Quay’s, Temple Bar, Co. Dublin

Traditional Bar of The Year

Winner — The Stags Head, Co. Dublin
Silver — Mother Macs Public House, Co. Limerick
Bronze — Peadars Bar Moate, Co. Westmeath

Visitor Attraction of the Year
Sponsored by Excel Recruitment

Winner — Celtic Nights at The Arlington Hotel, Co. Dublin
Silver — Treaty City Brewery, Co. Limerick
Bronze — Franciscan Well Brewpub, Co. Cork

Whiskey Bar Of The Year
Sponsored by Roe & Co

Winner — Sonny Molloy’s Irish Whiskey Bar, Co. Galway
Silver — Mother Macs Public House, Co. Limerick
Bronze — The Horseshoe Bar, Co. Dublin